FORT MYERS, Fla. — Mickayla Perdue scored 24 points and three different Cleveland State players hauled in double-digit rebounds as the Vikings rallied to beat Southern Miss 70-63 Sunday at the Homewood Suites Classic in Fort Myers, Florida.
CSU, licking its wounds from just its second loss of the season to Caitlin Clark and Iowa, found itself trailing for most of the game before finally going ahead in the fourth quarter with a 15-3 run. Perdue, a senior transfer from Division II Glenville State, had 10 of her points in the final period, including the go-ahead 3 with just over four minutes left to play.
Dominique Davis had 16 points to pace the Lady Eagles (7-2), who led by as many as 12 before the Vikes slowly chipped away. Key to the final tally was free-threw shooting, as CSU made several clutch shots from the charity stripe down the stretch while USM only made 58.8% of their attempts from the line.
Rebounding was also a major factor, as Cleveland State (10-2) decisively won that battle 51-37. Sophomore Faith Burch led the way with 13 off the bench, followed by starters Carmen Villalobos with 11 and Jordan Reisma with 10.
The Vikings have one game left in the showcases hosted by Florida Gulf Coast University, a battle with Drexel Thursday afternoon. It will be the team's last matchup before an eight-day Christmas break.